1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of water filter assemblies, and more particularly, to a water filter assembly for a shower which does not reduce headroom in the shower.
2. Prior Art
Indoor plumbing systems provide water to one or more points of delivery in a building. The water may be supplied from a public water company which serves many users, or from a privately owned well which serves an individual user. All water supplies are at risk of being polluted by contaminants, and most water supplies, whether public or private, contain at least trace amounts of contaminants. The contaminants may be hazardous chemicals or bacteria, or simply suspended particles. The contaminants may result merely in an unpleasant odor or taste in the water, or may produce severe consequences such as sickness, skin rashes, or with long term exposure, cancer.
Public water companies generally test water quality and maintain nominally low levels of contaminants in the water. In order to achieve this, the public water companies generally add chlorine to the water to destroy bacteria. The chlorine itself may provide an unpleasant odor and taste in the water. In an effort to overcome these problems and provide a safer water supply, many users desire water filters in their plumbing systems.
Devices are known for filtering water near a point of delivery in a plumbing system. The filter devices generally include a housing which contains one or more filter media through which delivered water must pass. The housing defines a flow path and has a water inlet, a water outlet, and means for connection to the plumbing system, usually at the ultimate plumbing system outlet such as the end of a faucet. A spray forming nozzle may be connected to the filter outlet in order to provide a desired spray pattern of the water.
The housing typically has a substantially larger cross sectional area than the pipe, faucet or other conduit to which the filter is attached. A large cross section is necessary in order to provide for a larger and longer lasting filter element, and to reduce the extent to which the filter reduces the pressure and flow rate of water passing through. Additionally, the filter element has a substantial depth along the water flow path, such that the water is treated over a span of length sufficient to achieve the desired filtration and/or treatment of the water.
A water filter can be installed on a shower. Shower water filters are especially desirable for eliminating odors from chlorine or the like. Odors are particularly noticeable in shower water because the warm water spray on the user promotes water evaporation, produces droplets, and creates a fine mist which permeates the air and is ingested. Due to the character of a shower, odorous substances enter the air and are sensed at higher levels than is the water from a simple faucet. A shower water filter including, for example, activated charcoal or the like substantially eliminates chlorine odor and other odors by removing the odorous substances from the water before the water is ejected from the shower head. A shower water filter may also add to the water a bactericide or fungicide for preventing the growth of bacteria or fungus in the shower head or shower area between showers. The shower water filter may also filter out organic chemicals which irritate the eyes and skin and may cause cancer following repeated exposure.
While shower water filters provide the foregoing benefits, known devices have a drawback in that they protrude from their connection to the water pipe, which extends outwardly and downwardly form a wall. Inserting a housing large enough for a filter element between the pipe and the shower head results in the shower head being positioned lower in the shower and/or farther from the wall, reducing the available headroom (from the shower floor to the shower head) and shower space generally. The headroom in most showers is not very great in any event, and a reduction in the headroom increases the possibility that users will have to bend or crouch in order to get their head into the spray beneath the shower nozzle. Tall people are particularly subject to this problem because shower pipes are installed at a height which is apt for users of average height. Thus, there is a need for a shower water filter which provides the benefits of filtered shower water without reducing headroom beneath the shower nozzle.
The present invention provides a shower water filter which includes a housing having a water inlet for connection to a shower pipe, and a water outlet for connection to a shower head. A filter element is disposed within the housing. When the filter is operatively connected to the shower pipe, the filter element is located vertically above the water inlet and the water outlet. The present invention provides the benefits of filtered shower water without reducing a height of the shower head above the shower floor.